The Portland Development Commission awarded community livability grants totaling $300,000 to eight nonprofit organizations in the Interstate Corridor Urban Renewal Area.  The grants will be used to enhance and expand capacity of existing community facilities and historic structures in the corridor area, including an affordable child care center, community centers, alternative educational opportunities, and an arts and cultural center. The eight proposals awarded are ....

Four months after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans, Dr. Jonathan Jui, Multnomah County's director of emergency medical services, delivered a keynote address at The Skanner Foundation's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast. No one seemed to understand the extent of the catastrophe until it occurred, Jui told the crowd. "What the community hears and what it knows are two different things," said Jui, who worked with the National Disaster Medical System team at the New Orleans airport after the disaster. The Skanner Publisher Bernie Foster wants to ensure that this type of smokescreen doesn't happen in Portland or Seattle.....

A volunteer for REACH Community Development paints the side of a house during the nonprofit's Paint & Repair-a-thon last Saturday. Eighteen homes of disabled people and seniors were repaired.

The Third Annual Northwest African American Fine Arts Exhibit opened Aug. 5 and will run through Sept. 5 at the Art/Not Terminal Gallery, 205 Westlake Ave.
This year's theme is "Hidden Masters," The Life and Times of Northwest African American Artists.
Each year NAAFA convenes a broad spectrum of artists of African American heritage who live in the Pacific Northwest to showcase their unique visions and perspectives in a wide range of artistic media. This year several artists will be contributing their images and designs, representing more than 200 years of creative expression.
"It is an absolute joy and inspiration to be able to bring together such a talented group of artists for this exhibit," said Robert L. Horton, curator. "The Northwest African American Fine Arts Exhibit is becoming a permanent part of Seattle's summer arts celebrations."
The artists will gather at an opening reception from 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 11 at the Art/Not Terminal Gallery. Refreshments will be served. The gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday, and from 1:30 to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Special showings and group tours available by request.

GLOUCESTER, Va. -- Irene Morgan Kirkaldy, a Black woman whose refusal to give up her bus seat to White passengers triggered a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision more than a decade before Rosa Parks gained recognition for doing the same, has died. She was 90.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- An attorney who won a U.S. Supreme Court case forcing Jefferson County public schools to drop a racial integration plan has filed a motion seeking to force the district to provide data on enrollment and capacities in a handful of schools.
Attorney Teddy Gordon said Friday that some parents whose children were denied transfers are trying to make sure they weren't turned down because of race.
The motion, filed in federal court, seeks grade-level capacity figures at seven schools.
District data provided to The Courier-Journal of Louisville shows all but one were full or overenrolled as of Tuesday. The figures were not broken down by grade.
Attorneys for the school system said they told Gordon before he filed his motion that they would send him overall capacity figures for all schools, and that grade-level data could be obtained by calling the school.
The recent Supreme Court ruling led the school district to drop the use of race in individual assignment decisions, including transfers.

WASHINGTON -- Frequent tours for U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan have stressed the all-volunteer force and made it worth considering a return to a military draft, President Bush's new war adviser said Friday.
"I think it makes sense to certainly consider it," Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute said in an interview with National Public Radio's "All Things Considered."
"And I can tell you, this has always been an option on the table. But ultimately, this is a policy matter between meeting the demands for the nation's security by one means or another,"...

Longtime Meals on Wheels delivery volunteer Travis Sangle looks over the day's meal deliveries as his assistant Brent Shird, a volunteer for nearly 10 years, looks on. The MLK Jr. Loaves & Fishes Center is currently in need of volunteers for their Meals on Wheels program.

Efforts to expand health insurance for children could greatly affect their grandparents.
House Democrats want to eliminate Medicare participants' share of the costs when they get cancer screenings such as mammographies and colonoscopies — an approach designed to promote disease prevention.
They also would lower seniors' share of the cost from 50 percent to 20 percent when they see a psychiatrist for treatment of depression and other mental illnesses — the same cost-sharing that would occur for a physical illness.
And, many of the poorest seniors would newly qualify for extra help in paying for their medicine or monthly premiums, thanks to changes that let them maintain more assets.
But the legislation, likely to be considered in the House next week, has parts that will upset millions of seniors.
Around the country, about 8.2 million elderly and disabled Americans are enrolled in private health plans through Medicare...

After months of site preparation, contractors and planners for the Humboldt Gardens public housing project say construction is coming along on schedule. A ceremonial "wall-raising" was held on July 27 to mark the start of building construction at the site.
Calvin Jackson, owner of CJ Jackson Construction, said the partnership between his company and Walsh Construction has provided the opportunity to grow his business leaps and bounds....